Action

We're in the home stretch in San Francisco with the Free MUNI for All Youth campaign. On Tuesday, April 3, MTA's board will take up proposals for Youth Transit:

1) Status Quo: Keep a Reduced fare pass for Youth - now $21 but has risen in cost 100% in two years ($10 - $21)
2) Fee For All Youth - OUR Proposal and Ask for next Tuesday
3) Reduced fare/passes for All from current costs
4) Free for All Low Income (free/reduced lunch) - this is the proposal MTA leadership supports

For the past five years, working people in the Bay Area have faced brutal cuts to vital services. Bus riders have been hit especially hard, some losing more than 15% of their transit service. This means longer waits, higher costs, and missed appointments.

Banks Must Pay
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Banks that wrecked our economy continue to overcharge our public agencies—the Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC), for one— millions of dollars on bad loan deals.

What You Can Do
On Feb. 20th through 24th, join bus riders, ACCE, Urban Habitat, and our allies in the Transportation Justice Working Group, as well as the 6 Wins For Social Equity, for a Week of Actions, to demand that banks renegotiate interest-rate swap agreements.

ACTION ALERT! From Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT)

Stop the assault on the public sector,
protect environmental justice and civil rights
in transportation funding.                 

SAY NO to H.R. 7 — TAKE ACTION NOW!

House Republican Committees voted last week to eviscerate transit in the federal transportation bill by eliminating the 20% share of dedicated funding for public transit and giving 100% of federal funds to roads and highways. This bill also targets our grassroots communities of color who make up the backbone of transit ridership across the country.

CALL your Congressional Representative and the Speaker of the House and tell them to vote NO on H.R. 7 (the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act) Contact Your Congressional Representative: http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Contact Speaker Boehner: Phone: (202) 225-0600 Fax: (202) 225-5117

Join us on November 14th! Strengthen the Fight for Transportation Justice

WHAT: FTA Listening Session on Title VI and Environmental Justice
WHERE: Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703 (at Ashby BART station)
WHEN: Monday, November 14, 2011, 6:00 to 9:00 PM

To RSVP Click Here

Dear Civil Rights and EJ allies,

On Monday, November 14th, Obama Administration officials will be in California to hear community input on how to strengthen civil rights and Environmental Justice rules in public transportation.  These rules have been used successfully to challenge discrimination.

In 2010, Oakland activists successfully diverted $70 million from BART’s costly Oakland Airport Connector to preserve existing transit service. Bus riders in Los Angeles have used these protections to trigger a federal investigation of LA Metro’s elimination of nearly 1 million hours of bus service.

Rising fares have made it too expensive for low-income families to ride the bus. Cuts to transit service have isolated millions of people from jobs, schools and health care. Communities of color continue to receive an unequal share of funding to improve mass transit service.

This madness must stop! We need stronger civil and environmental justice protections to put an end to these discriminatory decisions. FTA's general information about proposed changes

Join Us for FTA Listening Session: Nov 14th

Help strengthen the fight for transportation justice!
Monday, November 14, 2011, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703 (at Ashby BART station)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA-Public transportation riders and supporters across the country will speak out on Sept. 20 to protest proposed federal spending cuts that would gut public transit and highway funding. In Oakland, members of ACCE, Genesis, Urban Habitat, the Transportation Justice Working Group and Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 192 will gather at 14th and Broadway at 4:45 p.m. for a "Call to Action" as part of "Don't X Out Public Transportation Day," which is being organized by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Demonstrations will take place in 14 cities across the country, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Birmingham, AL.

Today, Tuesday, September 20th, is a major day of action for Transporation Justice in the Bay and around the country and we're asking the Transportation Justice Working Group to join us for one or both of the following actions:

Free MUNI for Youth Campaign Press Event and Action
Join us (Sup. David Campos and other BoS members, SF Unified School District, POWER, Chinatown CDC and other CBOs)  as we have our public launch of our campaign to win a Free 3 Year Pilot Transit Pass for SF Youth!

When: Tuesday September 20th from 12  - 12:30
Where: Steps of City Hall in San Francisco
What: We'll hold a press event with youth, allies and elected officials highlighting the urgent need for equal access to schools, jobs, after-school programs followed by attending the SF MTA board meeting to show MUNI the broad support this campaign has.

If you can attend please let me know. Also, because it's a school day (and we don't want to take kids out of the classroom) we'll have some youth who have recently graduated from school attending and some pre-school kids but it would great if we had more to show the media our future transit riders!